The Backyard

Taking the time to wander daily around the backyard as a child became a life altering experience for me. The variety of flowering shrubs in our small yard was astounding. There was a hedge of deep purple, lavender and white lilacs that ran along the property line to the east, clouds of fragrance wafting through … Read more

Looking at the bigger picture

I believe that a loving spirit and creative energy surrounds and passes through each of us, and all of life and nature. One has to be present in the moment to be aware of this energy. A tiny flame within each of us (Love) will act as an inner guide in navigating, clarifying, and illuminating … Read more

First Sign of True Spring

First Sign of True Spring Still waiting Crocus and daffodils poke their heads through the detritus remaining in the garden. It snows. Birds are fooled into thinking that the fickle warmth has come to stay. It snows. Magnolia and dogwood buds, prove too much for the branches to bear following one last heavy snow The … Read more

Being one with the tree

Swayingwiththebranches leaves rustling tepid gusts of wind shaking water sparkles to the ground.   Insects drone beyond the melodic chorus of birdsong and symphonic wind chimes twinkle and crash while cool clawed little feet skitter about my branches having a nibble on the way.   A hanging plant sways in my breath as it battles … Read more

Children are for the birds!

  The spectacular beauty of winter is not always as obvious as it is after a fresh snowfall, or when the trees glisten with ice. But if you look closely, you will see muted splendor in the reds, browns, golds, and forest green of garden and roadside brush.      On closer observation, you will … Read more

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow

Year by year the complexities of this world grow more bewildering. We need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities, and to teach our children to do the same. For in so doing, we enable them to seek contentment within themselves rather than relying on electronic devices for their entertainment.    … Read more

Ruminations of an eccentric gardener

     I’ve spent the last several evenings gardening in the front yard. This has come to be my favorite time of day. The neighborhood kids are all running around and they love to stop by for a chat (or a cooling spray as I water the flowers). Families are out for an after-dinner stroll. The … Read more

Lessons from nature

     Childhood is such a gift.  Those of us with children have been given a second chance to experience that magic and wonder  of seeing life through the eyes of a child.  Things that we have come to take for granted, come alive.   Take for example the  wildlife on your property or in your … Read more